IdahoRenegade
.060 Over
I never had any interest in a "cruiser" style bike until a few months ago. I'm heavily into the adventure bike thing and picked up a Tiger 800XC last fall. Love the bike, it is a great match for my riding-just finished the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route a couple weeks ago-1400 miles of Idaho backcountry dirt roads.
Anyway, once I had my first Triumph it got me looking at the rest of the lineup. I have to say, the Rocket III Roadster has really been drawing me these last few months, and my local dealer has a used 2012 for what seems a fair price-not many used ones in my area. Not as a replacement for the Tiger, but a something for a different style of riding. Everything I see appeals to me. The styling and of course the torque in particular. But I do have a few questions I haven't seen answered.
First, how is the passenger comfort for 2-up riding? I'm guessing the sissy bar is nearly mandatory-are there any options other than the nearly $400 Triumph rack and backrest? Is the pillion seat comfortable for rides of say 300 miles? I've been digging through the various aftermarket seat threads lately.
Also, I happen to live on a gravel road and have about 3 miles to pavement and have about 1/2 mile of gravel driveway. How is the Rocket on gravel? I don't expect to toss it around like an ADV bike, but I don't imagine it's too bad. Still, at 800 lb and with 160+ ft-lbs, I imagine not being smooth on the throttle gets interesting.
I have yet to test ride an R3, but did get a chance to throw a leg over the '12 Roadster. I don't care for the feet-forward seating position of many cruisers, but this one felt fine to me. Were all the earlier bikes (pre-'10ish) set up with more of a foot-forward position? I suppose I could get used to it, part of the issue is too much time on an ADV bike-I expect the pegs to be below me, not way out in front.
Looking for any input. I hope to test ride it later this week...and sort of expect it to follow me home.
Anyway, once I had my first Triumph it got me looking at the rest of the lineup. I have to say, the Rocket III Roadster has really been drawing me these last few months, and my local dealer has a used 2012 for what seems a fair price-not many used ones in my area. Not as a replacement for the Tiger, but a something for a different style of riding. Everything I see appeals to me. The styling and of course the torque in particular. But I do have a few questions I haven't seen answered.
First, how is the passenger comfort for 2-up riding? I'm guessing the sissy bar is nearly mandatory-are there any options other than the nearly $400 Triumph rack and backrest? Is the pillion seat comfortable for rides of say 300 miles? I've been digging through the various aftermarket seat threads lately.
Also, I happen to live on a gravel road and have about 3 miles to pavement and have about 1/2 mile of gravel driveway. How is the Rocket on gravel? I don't expect to toss it around like an ADV bike, but I don't imagine it's too bad. Still, at 800 lb and with 160+ ft-lbs, I imagine not being smooth on the throttle gets interesting.
I have yet to test ride an R3, but did get a chance to throw a leg over the '12 Roadster. I don't care for the feet-forward seating position of many cruisers, but this one felt fine to me. Were all the earlier bikes (pre-'10ish) set up with more of a foot-forward position? I suppose I could get used to it, part of the issue is too much time on an ADV bike-I expect the pegs to be below me, not way out in front.
Looking for any input. I hope to test ride it later this week...and sort of expect it to follow me home.
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